Walking while resting may expend more energy, but dogs cannot tolerate it. fitness

LFirst of all, I’m not looking for something more tiring. I’m tired enough. But research suggesting that exercise interrupted with frequent breaks requires more energy than “steady-state” exercise has counterintuitive appeal. This means that the more you rest, the better your workout will be.

The results of the study published in “Proceedings of the Royal Society B” are surprising. Treadmill and stair climbing volunteers used 20 to 60 percent more oxygen when walking for 10 to 30 seconds at a stretch, compared to walking the same distance without stopping. This apparently has something to do with the sheer inefficiency of stop-start activities. “We found that when you start walking from rest, a significant amount of oxygen is consumed by the time you start walking,” says study author Francesco Luciano. “Whether you walk for 10 seconds or 30 seconds, you incur this cost, so short matches carry proportionately more weight than long matches.” I wonder if this strategy will work for me as well. I thought.

I started my research with my daily itinerary. It was a walk to the nearest post office which was only 800 meters away. On the way there, I walked at a brisk pace without stopping, but on the way back, I walked the same distance in 30 seconds, taking breaks in between. At least that’s what I tried to do – 30 seconds doesn’t get you very far, even at near-jogging speeds. There are about 75 steps and you can’t get from one corner to the next or from one park bench to the next.

And it seems like a stupid thing to do. It is never so far from its previous resting place that there is no plausible reason to stop again. You can stop mid-stride to read your email, but you can’t stop every 75 steps. You can pretend that your shoelaces are untied, but only once or twice at most. As I walked home, more and more people passed me, and I continued to cross the park, stopping as if I had forgotten something, and then realizing that I hadn’t. I can’t help but have suspicions. The outbound trip took 12 minutes. The return trip took more than 30 minutes. I don’t know which one carries more metabolic cost, but I do know which one I preferred.

Who isn’t really interested in this approach to exercise, and that’s dogs. Although my afternoon study involved only a single animal sample, the results were clear. Dogs cannot tolerate breaks every 30 seconds. And I can’t stand taking breaks every 10 seconds. As I sat on the first bench, the dog looked at me sharply. A kind of alarm, as if I was having a heart attack. Then he got nervous at the end of the leash and tried to pull me into a standing position.

“You’re actually using more energy this way,” I said. The dog cried. There are many things that dogs don’t understand. For example, why can’t I take home the surgical gloves I found in the hedge? But standing still for no reason is a clear and simple punishment from a dog’s perspective.

If this study serves as a rebuke to those who jog in place while waiting at a railroad crossing – you should stand there with your arms crossed like everyone else. It is also a vote of confidence for those waiting at the railroad crossing. The count jumps up from the couch and answers the door as circuit training. While there is clearly value in intense exercise, even for short periods of time, the forced inefficiency is a bit heartbreaking. It’s like someone who doesn’t know how to jump rope. Even though I’m clearly exercising more than someone who is good at jumping rope, I still don’t feel good after I’m done.

All I can say is that both the dog and I were unusually tired after a very inefficient afternoon walk. I’ll never know if it’s from extra oxygen consumption or pure frustration.